Self Proclaimed Neo-Nazi Killed His Two Roomates After They “Disrespected His Muslim Faith”
18 year-old Devon Arthurs of 15350 Amberly Drive, in Tampa, Florida has been charged with fatally shooting two of his roommates.
The shooting occurred on Friday, May 19, shortly before 5:28 p.m. Arthurs was taken into custody after the murders at the Green Planet Smoke Shop at 15325 Amberly Drive.
He was formally booked into the jail early Saturday. The final notification of the victims’ next of kin occurred early Sunday.
The investigation started at approximately 5:28 p.m. on Friday when Tampa Police officers responded to a call regarding a suspicious male who was possibly armed at the Green Planet Smoke Shop.
The officers made contact with the suspect who was armed at the time. The armed man, who it was later learned was Devon Arthurs, told two customers and an employee in the shop that they could not leave. The officers kept talking to Arthurs and he agreed to let the hostages leave and dropped his weapon. He was taken into custody with no further incident.
While in custody, Arthurs made comments to the officers that he killed two people. Arthurs directed the officers to a home inside The Hamptons Condominium, located at 15350 Amberly Drive. Officers entered the residence and located two deceased males. Both appeared to have died from gunshot wounds.
When detectives interviewed Arthurs and inquired about a motive for the killings, Arthurs claimed that he and his roommates shared a common neo-Nazi belief, until Arthurs recently converted to Islam. He said his roommates disrespected his Muslim faith. He also said he had become angered by what he described as the world’s anti-Muslim sentiment and wanted to bring attention to his cause.
The two roommates have been identified as 22 year-old Jeremy Himmelman and 18 year-old Andrew Oneschuk. Both were living at 15350 Amberly Drive, Tampa, the same address as Arthurs.
A third roommate has been identified as 21 year-old Brandon Russell who has been charged has been charged by criminal complaint with possession of an unregistered destructive device and unlawful storage of explosive material, in violation of federal law. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 11 years in federal prison.
The alleged shooter, Arthurs, stated that he, Russell, and the two victims shared common neo-Nazi beliefs, and that Russell participated in online neo-Nazi chat rooms where he threatened to kill people and bomb infrastructure. During a search of the apartment, law enforcement discovered a cooler in the garage containing the explosive HMTD (hexamethylene triperoxide diamine), along with various explosive precursors in close proximity. Upon questioning, Russell admitted that he had manufactured the
HMTD located in the garage.
On May 21, 2017, Russell was arrested in Key Largo. He made his initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Andrea Simonton in the Southern District of Florida. Russell was detained pending further proceedings in the Middle District of Florida.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Tampa Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Josephine W. Thomas and Daniel A. George.